The present invention relates to a joystick for use in manually inputting coordinates and other information into computers and video equipment of various manufacturers.
The proliferation of different types of computers and video machines by various manufacturers has been accompanied by the development of associated joysticks to control input signals used to operate various games played on such machines. Generally, each different computer or video machine has a different arrangement of input lines and therefor requires a joystick which is compatible with its input requirements. Joysticks have been developed to include boxes having a plurality of rotatable input knobs to feed in coordinate information as well as buttons for activating microswitches that initiate events such as "fire" signals.
To facilitate the manual control of input coordinate information, joysticks having a handle simultaneously movable in two orthogonal directions were developed to more easily and conveniently determine coordinate information in two orthogonal directions. Known joysticks of such a type utilize internal mechanisms that result in a relatively bulky housing and a set biasing force on the handle to urge the latter towards a neutral position. Considering that joysticks are usually coupled to a computer or video machine by means of a cable, and are therefore positioned by the user on a portion of a table or the like in front of the monitor, a joystick housing occupying a minimum of space and having a minimum of thickness in order to maximize stability against tipping is highly desirable. Conventional joysticks which generally have relatively large vertical dimensions as compared to the horizontal dimensions are subject to tipping particularly when the handles have a relatively large biasing force.
In addition, considering that different users prefer different amounts of biasing on the joystick handle, conventional joysticks which have a set biasing force severely limit both the adaptability and the desirability of conventional joysticks.